Gloom
by Frost Deejn
Summary: The digidestined go to a scenic mountain cabin. Poetry, romance, and gratuitous Tale of Genji references ensue...until people begin disappearing.
1. Uji Matsu

Disclaimer: Let's go over this again: I don't own _Digimon_. I'm not profiting from this work, and I'm way too poor to sue. The _Tale of Genji_, the flagship of Japanese literature, was written by Murasaki Shikibu.

Warning: Contains poetry. I sincerely apologize.

Gloom

Chapter 1: _Uji Matsu_

"This is going to be so much fun!" Yolei declared. "All of us hanging out together, especially Mimi!"

Mimi blushed. "It's good to see you, too, Yolei."

"It's too bad the digimon couldn't come," said Matt.

The collective mood sobered at that comment. The digimon couldn't come because they were searching for Daemon in the digital world, a fact which hung like a dark cloud over their heads.

"On the other hand," Tai joked to lighten the mood, "now we'll have some food left for us."

"Especially since Joe and Sora have to work. Don't tell them I said that!" Davis laughed as Kari swatted him playfully.

Cody turned to talk to Izzy. "How many people besides us are going to be there?"

"Just Tsukiyo and her brother."

"Is her brother cute?" Yolei asked hopefully.

"I don't know; I've never met him."

T.K. shook his head at Yolei. "You just broke up with Tommi two weeks ago. Take some time off, Yolei."

Ken quietly listened to the banter as he watched the passing scenery out the train window.

They arrived at the train station in Kyoto in late afternoon. Tsukiyo was waiting for them. Her brother stood beside her, but she purposely faced the approaching train at an angle that kept him just out of sight. Her parents were letting her use their cabin on condition that she let Fuyutora come with her, which she was _not_ happy about. She'd worked so hard for so long to distance herself from her family—financially, physically, emotionally, and psychologically—that even bringing her new friends to her family's cabin felt dangerous. She wondered why she suggested it in the first place. There must have been some subconscious reason behind it. Maybe part of her wanted Izzy to accept her for who she had been, as well as who she now was.

The train came to a stop and its passengers filed out. Tsukiyo sought out Izzy and they bowed to each other in an ostensibly formal but clearly heart-felt greeting. She then introduced her brother to the group. "Izzy, Ken, Yolei, Cody, Kari, T.K., Davis, Matt, Tai, Mimi: this is my younger brother, Fuyutora Nishiyama."

"Everyone calls me Tora," he said as he stepped forward to meet them. Tora was taller than his sister by a couple of inches, and while Tsukiyo was merely pretty in the best light, Tora was ravishing. His sharp features were perfectly proportioned and symmetrical. His straight black hair was cut short except for the bangs, which hung in clumps down his forehead, across his thin, angular eyebrows, into his wide-set eyes. (Yolei nearly swooned when he brushed the hair out of his eyes with his long, elegant fingers.) But in spite of their differences, that Tora and Tsukiyo were siblings was immediately obvious. He was the image of his sister refined and polished. And perhaps that was part of why Tsukiyo resented him. Izzy noticed she never looked directly at her brother, and while he was in her field of vision she wore a vague sneer.

"A pleasure to meet you, Tora," Yolei said quickly, stepping forward to take his hand. "I'm Yolei."

He smiled at her. His smile could have been either suave or condescending. "Nice to meet you, too." He looked over her shoulder at Mimi and Kari, who was trying not to smile at Yolei's enthusiasm. "Mimi and Kari, right?" He pointed to each of them respectively as he stated their names.

"Yes, and we're happy to meet you, too," Mimi claimed.

"Are all digidestined girls as beautiful as you?" he asked. His eyes slid from Mimi to Kari, then flickered to Yolei as though extending a token of inclusion to her out of politeness.

Ken, watching the greetings from the back of the crowd, frowned. He instantly disliked Tora. He tried to figure out why: was it because Yolei was fliriting with him, or because Tora was better looking than himself (he doubted that was it), or because Tsukiyo—who had become a close friend—clearly hated her brother?

Tsukiyo had rented a van, which they all squeezed into. They drove up a winding mountain road east of the city of Uji. By the time they reached their destination, the sun was setting.

The cabin had two stories and a terrace that enclosed with _sudare_ screens. Though rustic, it had electricity and running water. The downstairs consisted of a narrow hallway, a kitchen, a living room with a large fireplace, two large closets, and a pantry. The upstairs had two bedrooms, each with an adjoining bathroom.

"This place was built by our great-grandfather," Tora said proudly. "But of course I've had it recently renovated."

"With my money," Tsukiyo added under her breath.

"Which you _loaned_ me, and I will pay back," Tora reminded her.

Tsukiyo rolled her eyes, but dropped the issue. "We brought pizza for dinner," she said. "It will be ready in approximately thirty minutes."

While Tsukiyo prepared the pizza, Tora started a fire.

"This is a nice place," Mimi complimented.

"It looks like something right out of _the Tale of Genji_," Kari added.

"Thank you. I meant to give it that ambiance," Tora said. "We're so close to Uji, I though it would be appropriate. You know," he added in a near-whisper, "some people think this whole mountain is haunted. Sleep with one eye open tonight; you might see a ghost."

The digidestined smiled, scoffed, and stifled snickers.

"I'm not kidding," Tora said, sounding a little bit offended.

"Dude," said Davis, "we've been fighting monsters for years. You think we're scared of ghosts?"

Tora huffed. "Monsters are nothing. You can see monsters. Ghosts, though, you only see ghosts in dreams. And by the time you wake up, it's too late."

The smell of pizza distracted them, and in a few minutes Tsukiyo arrived with dinner. The hungry digidestined converged on her.

"If Veemon were here," Davis mentioned, "he'd eat a whole pizza in one bite!"

"Are you trying to give us a demonstration?" Yolei asked as she snatched away what would have been Davis's fourth slice.

"Do those two always eat so much?" Tora asked Ken loud enough for Davis and Yolei to hear.

Ken didn't answer; he wasn't in a joking mood.

As the night progressed, he pretended not to notice Yolei taking every opportunity to flirt with Tora. Somehow, Tora's indifference made him a little angry; how dare he reject what Ken so desired? And Yolei, who seemed to fall for every handsome boy who crossed her path except for him...

He quietly quoted a poem from the _Tale of Genji_:

"Let us blame the wisteria, of too pale a hue,

Though the pine has let itself be overgrown."

He felt tears sting his eyes, and knew he couldn't stay in the crowded room without risking awkward questions. He went outside, and into the tall pines that surrounded the cabin. He shouldn't be angry at Yolei, he told himself: she had no way to know how he felt about her. He'd never told her. If he had, she would at least have had the consideration to not flirt in front of him.

Why had he never told her? What was he afraid of? Nothing. He knew she would be flattered, and wouldn't end their friendship over it. Then why? And why had the girl who, by her own admission, fell in love at every opportunity never shown an interest in him? He didn't like the answer that came instantly to mind: because he had been the emperor. And perhaps that was the reason that he never told her. Not only did part of him feel like he didn't deserve to love her, but he feared finding out that the others still secretly blamed him.

"Ken!" Izzy called.

He wiped his tears on his sleeve and retreated into the shadow of a tree before answering. "I'm out here."

Izzy came toward him. He was holding a small notebook and a pen. "So this is where you went. I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"What?" Ken asked. He kept any trace of his turbulent emotions from his voice.

"I'm writing a poem for Tsukiyo. Can you think of something endless and constant?"

"_You're_ writing a poem?"

"Yeah. I guess this place makes me feel poetic."

Ken nodded understandingly. "Let's see...something endless. The universe?"

"No good. It might collapse someday. And the word needs to be one syllable."

"Hmm..." Ken's thoughts drifted back to his own heartache. He plucked a sprig of the pine tree and contemplated how, because its name was a pun on 'to wait' and because it was evergreen, in poetry it was used to suggest longing, constancy, and unrequited love. A similar homonym occurred in English; _I pine for you. _But that wouldn't work in Izzy's poem, since Tsukiyo loved him in return. But as Ken considered the tree's rings, which formed unbroken circles, the answer came to him. "Pi," he said.

"Huh?"

"3.14159. The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter."

"Perfect!" He finished composing his poem.

"May I see it?" Ken asked.

"Sure." Izzy handed him the notebook. He noticed the evidence of tears, but didn't comment.

The preceding pages of Izzy's notebook contained quickly-scribbled mathematical equations and hypotheses. The sudden appearance of the poem—in the traditional _waka _structure—was comical.

Moonlight—mirrored sun—

Paints the landscape platinum:

Beauty incarnate.

Though its light may wane, my love

For you, is constant as Pi.

Ken smiled. "I think she'll like it."

Izzy nodded. "Are you thinking of Wisteria?" he asked, using the code name for Ken's crush.

"Yes," Ken admitted. "May I write a poem?"

"Of course." Izzy gave him his pen.

Ken had learned long ago that the fastest way to ease overwhelming emotions was to put them down on paper; that way they were no longer inside of him.

Gloomy mountain pine,

Still frosted from winter's chill,

Longs for springtime warmth,

Bright wisteria flowers,

And thawing summer sunlight.

He tore out the page, rolled it up, and tied the pliable pine sprig in a knot around it. Then he handed the notebook and pen back to Izzy.

When they got back to the cabin, Ken tossed the pine and poem into the fireplace, but he didn't see it bounce back out, unscorched, onto the floor.


	2. The Poem

Chapter 2: _The Poem_

The boys were playing a card game in the upstairs room that had been designated their bedroom.

"So, Izzy," Tai said during a conversational lull, "How serious are you and Tsukiyo?"

"Maybe this isn't the best time to discuss this..." Izzy said in an attempt to get out of answering the question.

"It's the perfect time," Tai countered. "Kari told me you talk about Tsukiyo a lot."

"Almost as much as he talks about computers, if you can believe it," Cody said.

"He's crazy about her," T.K. added.

Izzy blushed a deep tomato color.

"What does Tsukiyo say about Izzy?" Davis asked Tora.

He was a little reluctant with his answer. "She doesn't really talk to me much. But I can tell you," he told Izzy, "that I've never seen her so eager to please someone. Never."

Izzy glanced around searching for some way to divert the conversation. "What about you, Matt? I heard you have a new girlfriend."

"I'm dating a singer. Nothing really serious," he said. "You should ask Tai about his girlfriend, Pearl."

"Pearl and I broke up weeks ago," Tai said, trying to sound casual, but unable to hide a little bit of hurt.

"And what about you, Ken?" Matt turned to the boy who'd been unusually quiet all night. "You get asked out all the time. Has anyone caught your eye yet?"

Ken kept his eyes fixed on his hand of cards. "The girls who ask me out just want to be able to brag; they're not really interested in getting to know me." A teen magazine had recently voted Ken one of Japan's sexiest people. He found that designation very annoying.

"You must have girls clamoring for your number, Tora," said T.K.

"Kind of," Tora answered. He frowned. "But honestly, the girls I know are uninteresting. They either try too hard to be just like their friends, or they try too hard to be different. I'm holding out for someone really special. Like Kari."

"Watch it," T.K. warned. "Kari's _my _girlfriend."

"Wow. Lucky you."

After a silent couple of seconds, Matt said, "I know what you mean about girls, Tora. There are a lot who are good-looking, and a lot who have great personalities, but they don't often overlap. And even when they do, there always seems to be something missing."

"Maybe you just expect too much," Cody suggested. "You have the ideal of the perfect woman built up in your mind, and you're so busy looking for her that you miss someone even better."

Ken agreed. "The right one may be someone you never expected; you don't even know why you fall in love with her, but you can't help it. And then you're even happier than you would be with your ideal, whose complete lack of flaws could turn out to be a flaw."

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Tora observed.

Ken didn't answer.

"You know," T.K. said, "this reminds me of a part in the _Tale of Genji _when Genji and his friends sat around one rainy afternoon and talked about their romances. Tsukiyo is like the woman the man from the ministry of rites talked about that the others thought he was making up because she was so smart."

"Though her name suggests that lady whose relationship with Genji was used as an excuse to exile him," Ken commented.

Izzy blushed again. "She's my favorite character in that book."

"Why? Because she realized a devoted husband was better than a handsome one?" Tora laughed. "Are you hoping Tsukiyo feels the same?"

Izzy made a fan of cards and hid his face with it.

They discussed which woman in _Genji _they would choose and why. The most surprising answer was Ken's.

"The Omi Lady," he said.

"The fast talker who always said whatever was on her mind? That's interesting. Why?" Matt asked.

Ken smiled at their reactions to his choice. "I like her sincerity, and her bravery. She made me laugh."

"Some people say opposites attract," T.K. supplied.

Izzy nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. That does make sense."

Ken glanced at him, and realized with a mixture of worry and relief that Izzy now knew the identity of Wisteria.

* * *

Tsukiyo had taken the girls on a walk down the road to a hill with a great view of the city lights. They told ghost stories on the way back. Kari told the one about Gatomon's strange encounter with the ghost of Wizardmon. 

They were resting in the living room after returning to the cabin when Kari noticed the slip of paper attached to the pine sprig. "What's this?" She picked it up and read the poem silently.

"What is it?" Mimi asked curiously.

Tsukiyo drifted over and read over Kari's shoulder. "A poem."

"A love poem," Kari added.

"Let me see!" Yolei joined them.

"Who could it be for?" Mimi wondered.

"And who could have written it?"

Izzy had come downstairs intending to give Tsukiyo his own poem. He paused outside the door and listened to their speculation. It took him a minute to figure out what happened. When he entered the room, he pretended he'd just arrived. "What's going on?" he asked.

"A mysterious love note," Tsukiyo said, clearly amused.

"Hey, maybe it's from Izzy," Yolei whispered in an unsuccessful attempt to not let Izzy overhear.

Tsukiyo shook her head. "Not his handwriting, he doesn't write poetry, and if it were to me it would be moonlight instead of sunlight."

"Can I see it?" Izzy asked as he came up behind them.

Kari handed it to him. "Maybe you can help us figure it out."

Izzy scrutinized it, pretending to be mystified. "I don't know who could have written it, but it's obviously meant for Yolei."

"Me? How can you tell?"

"Simple: the Kanji used to write 'sunlight' seems very suspicious, as it conceals which pronunciation is intended. One poetic pronunciation for 'sun' is 'yourei'. Whose name does that remind you of?"

"Looks like someone has a crush on you, Yolei," Kari said. "But still, who wrote it? There are eight boys here, and any one of them besides Izzy could be the culprit."

"Well, let's deduce." Yolei could hardly contain her curiosity.

Mimi spoke up. "It could be Tora. The line 'Still frosted from winter's chill' has _fuyu _in it, like his name. And he seemed to like you."

"Tora! You're right. It must be him."

"I don't think so," Tsukiyo said quietly, but Yolei was too excited about the first theory to consider other options.

"There's one way to find out for sure," said Kari. "You need to write him a poem of your own."

"And set up a secret meeting," Mimi concurred. "I have some scented stationery that would be perfect."

She enthusiastically dragged Yolei up to the bedroom. Kari followed behind, but Tsukiyo remained in the living room with Izzy.

"Right," she said sarcastically.

"You don't believe it's Tora?"

"I know it's not Tora. He would never do something like that. Though I doubt the true instigator left that poem lying around on purpose." She gave Izzy a sidelong accusatory glance. "Besides, I doubt you'd give Tora a page from your notebook."

"You recognized the paper?"

"The moment I saw it."

Izzy was speechless for ten seconds. She knew who wrote it. "When did you figure it out?" he asked.

"If Tora thinks he's frozen, he has no desire to thaw. And since he just met her, the 'pine' reference would make no sense. There are a lot of reasons it can't be Tora. You were sure it was for Yolei—you just came up with the 'sun' reference to explain how you know—which told me you not only let the poet use a page from your notebook, but you knew a secret about the writer that he clearly wants to hide from the world, ergo you know this person very well. You know Matt and Tai very well, of course, but you haven't had as much interaction with them over the past few years as you've had with the younger group, not to mention the age difference argues against one of them. That leaves Davis, T.K., Ken, and Cody. Davis couldn't put a poem like that together if his life depended on it; T.K. is dating Kari—that doesn't preclude him, but Kari would have recognized his calligraphy and poetry style; Cody's youth makes him unlikely, though I wouldn't put poetry past him. And he's shy; just the kind to write an anonymous poem about an anonymous girl, but if he were so poetically inclined, he would not describe himself as 'frosted from winter's chill'. No, only one person could have written _that_ poem. Oh, and it also explains an incident when Ken looked upset after Yolei told him about her new boyfriend. I figured it out the moment you identified the poem's subject."

"Don't tell him you know," Izzy begged. "I'm not even supposed to know."

The other girls returned. Yolei was blushing furiously; the other two couldn't restrain the occasional giggle. Yolei placed an intricately-folded piece of stationery on the mantel.

"Come on, Tsukiyo, we have to leave so Tora can come back and find my reply," Yolei said.

"She's definitely the Omi Lady," Izzy said as he and Tsukiyo followed the others out of the room.

Before they parted ways at the top of the stairs, Izzy pressed his poem into Tsukiyo's palm. "I do too write poetry, but only for you," he whispered. He kissed her cheek gently, then entered the boys' bedroom while Tsukiyo stared after him in amazement.

* * *

Davis and Tora were arm-wrestling while Matt and Tai placed mock bets. Cody reclined on his sleeping mat quietly writing in a journal. Ken was studying. They all looked up when they heard loud laughter from the girls' room.

Izzy entered. "Hey Ken, I want to show you something downstairs."

"Okay." He stood up and followed Izzy back through the door. Cody looked up, but the others didn't even glance after them; the geniuses were always talking about things that no one else understood or cared about.

"What is it?" Ken inquired when they reached the living room.

"They found your poem."

His eyes widened in horror. "But I threw it into the fire. How could they...?"

"I didn't tell them you wrote it," Izzy assured him.

Ken sighed with relief.

"But I did tell them it's about Yolei."

He just barely stopped himself from screaming. "Why?" he asked in a shrill whisper.

"Because you've liked her for years and it's time you did something about it. She thinks it's from Tora. She wrote a response." He looked at the mantel, drawing Ken's attention to the folded paper.

Moving mechanically, Ken walked across the room and opened the poem. His eyes flickered as he read it over. "This couldn't possibly be worse."

Izzy took the paper from Ken's limp hand. "It's not that bad," he said with a smile as he read it. "A little clumsy, but at least the meter is good."

"I can't meet her. She's expecting someone else. She'll be so disappointed."

"If you do show up she'll be pleasantly surprised."

Ken just shook his head, dazed. "This is a nightmare."

Izzy sighed. "She doesn't have to know it's you. You can stay out of sight and speak in a whisper. She'd love the mystery."

Ken didn't answer.

"Whatever you choose, just don't be lonely your whole life," Izzy advised. Then he left.

Ken reread the poem.

"When midnight moonlight

Shines on the _sudare _screen,

At the south corner,

There, awash in moon silver,

For the thawed spring pine I wait."


	3. Found and Lost

Chapter 3: Found and Lost

Though he'd decided against meeting Yolei, as midnight neared Ken found himself sneaking out to the terrace. Yolei came out precisely at midnight, walked past his hiding place in the shadows without seeing him, then waited. He saw her clearly through the holes in the screen. She was so close, and so beautiful in the moonlight, but he didn't dare speak.

Yolei was beginning to worry as the minutes dragged by. Either her poetic admirer hadn't gotten her message, or he decided not to meet with her. She whispered a resentful poem.

"Pine, you called yourself,

But are you that plant that waits,

In dark, for the sun?

This lucent moon reveals

Colors not quite so constant."

He clenched his eyes closed. If only she were here for him, instead of Tora. He answered with a poem:

"You berate the pine

For its complicated hues,

O, Wisteria?

Violet, lavender, or white:

The very color of love."

She started and looked around. She turned and realized the voice had come from the other side of the screen. "I seem to be up against a superior poet," she commented.

"I've had a lot of practice," he whispered.

Even in the pale light of the moon, he saw her blush. The color of her hair in the moonlight seemed supernaturally beautiful. "So," she said because she could think of nothing else, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

He winced. How could he answer that? "If I did, would I be here?"

"Well, I would. Be here, I mean. Even if I had a boyfriend right now, I mean." She was nervous, and consequently rambling. "Not that I'm...you know...I just think if someone finds someone they like more than whoever they're with at the time, then they should break up with them so they could be with the person they like more, because they won't be completely happy with their old relationship anymore, so they'll break up eventually anyway. Know what I mean?" Before he could think of a way to answer, Yolei continued, fully aware of how stupid she was sounding and wishing she could stop saying things that would sabotage this chance. "But then, I do get crushes a lot that just go away as soon as I see the next cute guy. I've had crushes on all of the digidestined boys I've met, for example—Izzy, T.K., Matt, Tai, Michael, Yuri, Willis, Cody, even Davis!"

Her omission hurt more than her words. Ken tried to hide it from his voice when he answered. "At least there's one you didn't name. That demonstrates some level of restraint."

Yolei frowned. Who did she leave out? Then she remembered. "Oh, you're talking about _him_. That's not restraint, that's...just beyond the limits of my aspirations."

"What do you mean by that?"

"'Out of my league' is an understatement when it describes him. I'm so privileged to just be able to call myself his friend, how could I possibly even ask for anything more? He's so handsome, he's a genius, he's perfection itself. And it's true that I used to dream about him when I only knew him from TV, but then I found out...that didn't last, and then after he...after I really got to know him I realized how unworthy of him I am." She turned away. This meeting had suddenly become less fun. Here she was going on and on about the boy she could never have and ruining her chances with a good-looking poet who was interested in her. She decided to leave before she embarrassed herself more. "I'm sorry, I just became very sleepy." She didn't look back when she left, going around to the back door to get away as fast as possible.

Ken sat in the dark for several minutes thinking about what she said about him.

* * *

No one was in any hurry to get up the next morning. They were, after all, on vacation. Not surprisingly, Izzy and Tsukiyo slept in the latest. 

Kari, Mimi, and Yolei decided to take a walk through the woods before breakfast. It was a pleasant and sunny morning, though wisps of clouds crisscrossed the sky high above.

"How did your meeting go last night, Yolei?" Kari asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Kari offered her a sympathetic smile. "That good? Well, at least you tried."

"I made such a fool of myself, as usual."

"Don't say that. I'm sure..." Kari trailed off. She couldn't think of anything to be sure of that would cheer Yolei up.

"Was it really Tora?" Mimi asked.

Yolei slowed her step. "Actually, I didn't see him. He kept in the shadow and only spoke in whispers."

"What did he say?

"I'd really, really rather not talk about it."

Kari and Mimi both frowned. If Yolei didn't want to talk about it to her friends, it must have been disastrous. They decided not to bring up the subject again.

* * *

When they got back to the cabin, Kari saw T.K. out on the terrace and left her companions to spend some time with him.

"How did you sleep?" Kari asked amiably.

"Fine, except for Davis's snoring," T.K. answered. "I don't think Tora got much sleep at all."

"Why not?"

"The snoring," he explained. "I think for a while he was seriously considering stuffing a pillow in Davis's mouth."

Something didn't add up. "Who was the last one asleep?" she asked.

"Ken, probably. He went downstairs for some reason at about midnight. I fell asleep before he got back."

"Hm."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she said quickly.

"Well, there has to be some reason you're interested. Why don't you just tell me?"

"Because it's none of your business. Honestly, it's not really my business, either."

"But now I'm curious, so you have to tell me."

"Forget it." She began to go inside.

"Is something wrong, Kari?"

"Of course not. I'm fine."

"I mean...is there something wrong with us? We used to be best friends, but now you won't even talk to me."

She turned to him with a shocked expression. "You're blowing this way out of proportion."

"Am I? Why do I get the feeling you're trying to keep me at a distance? And I'm not even talking about today; I mean the whole time we've been dating."

She sighed. "We're on vacation. I don't feel like talking about this right now." She went inside, then upstairs to the deserted girls' bedroom, and started crying.

Yolei found her a few minutes later. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"T.K. and I had a fight."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Kari shook her head. "I think it was my fault."

"Then I'm sure T.K. will forgive you."

She sniffled. "Really?"

"You bet. Everyone has fights with her boyfriend. It's a natural part of _having _a boyfriend. Believe me, the next time you see him, whatever you fought about won't even be bothering him."

Kari's tears subsided and she gave her friend a small smile. "Maybe you're right. It was just our first fight. We can work it out."

"Exactly."

* * *

Dark clouds rolled in a little after lunchtime, and a few minutes later fat raindrops began splashing against the windows.

Davis and Tora were playing chess to pass the time. "What's it like to have a digimon?" Tora asked.

"It's great," Davis replied. "A digimon is the best friend you can imagine. Sure, you have to save the digiworld sometimes, but it's totally worth it. It's like..." he struggled to find the right words. "It's like the digimon is a part of you, and knowing that makes you feel...more...real."

Tora looked out the window. "I would love to have a digimon," he said.

"Maybe you will someday."

A tree branch broken by the wind suddenly banged against the window, causing them to jump and knock the chess board into disarray.

"Hey, guys." They looked up to see Tai at the door. "We're all meeting in the living room to play games."

Once they all gathered in the living room with a fire blazing in the fireplace, the dark rainstorm outside only served to make the cabin feel cozy. They decided to play charades, and only when they divided into two teams did they notice they had an odd number: someone was missing.

"Where's T.K.?" Kari asked.


	4. Mujou

Chapter 4: _Mujou_

Everyone split up to search the cabin for T.K. After several minutes of looking, they began drifting back to the living room empty handed.

"Any sign of him?" Cody asked when Yolei walked in.

"No. I looked all around upstairs. I even looked in the closets."

"Maybe he went outside."

A distant rumble of thunder seemed to counter this supposition. The rain began to fall harder.

"I don't think so," Yolei stated.

Kari and Tai returned to the room. Kari's hair was wet. "I looked around outside. No sign of him."

A burst of lightning and louder clap of thunder shocked the room. A moment later, the electricity went out. The only light in the room came from the window and the low orange spits of flame from the dying embers of the fire, which flickered threateningly in the wind blowing down the chimney.

"Oh great. This is just what we need," Yolei complained.

Ken and Mimi came back and reported finding no trace of T.K.

Tsukiyo and Izzy came in a minute later with a box of warped candles and miscellaneous jars and teacups to use as candle holders.

After a few minutes, those in the room began to look around nervously. Tai was just about to ask where everyone was when Davis walked in.

He looked around in confusion. "Where's Tora?"

"He isn't back yet," Yolei answered.

"We were looking around in the kitchen when I decided to look outside. I thought he was right behind me, but when I came back in he wasn't there."

"Matt isn't back, either," Mimi pointed out.

Izzy frowned. "One person missing is understandable, but three indicates something strange is going on here."

"They have to be somewhere," Tsukiyo reasoned. "We should look for them again. They could be out in the woods, or they could have come back and are somewhere we've already looked. Someone should stay here in case they come back."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Maybe we should stick together," Tai suggested.

"We'll have a better chance of finding them if we split up."

"And a better chance of whatever happened to them happening to us," Tai argued.

Tsukiyo looked unconvinced, but nodded. "But someone should stay here. Would you do that, Cody?"

"Because I'm the youngest?"

"Obviously," Tai said.

"That's age discrimination!" he protested.

"You have a point," said Tsukiyo. "Davis, you stay."

"Why?"

"You're the digidestined of courage, aren't you? If someone is going to stay in an empty cabin alone with the power out, it should be you."

"Okay," he agreed.

So Davis stayed in the living room as the others went outside to search the woods. After a few minutes in the dark, quiet house, he began to regret staying behind. It was creepy. Not that he wasn't used to creepy, but usually he had Veemon with him. Veemon always made things seem brighter.

He heard something, a scratching sound. He looked out the window, but there was nothing outside. It sounded like it was coming from inside the house. He looked around, took a candle into the hall, looked through the kitchen, but found nothing to explain the noise. He decided he imagined it.

* * *

The group walked through the woods, shivering in the cold and trying not to think about the lightning. Every half minute or so, they called out the names of their missing friends. After about fifteen minutes, they decided to check back at the house. But when they got to the living room, Davis was gone. 

"Davis?" Tai said. "Where are you?"

They began looking around the house.

"Davis, this isn't funny. Come out," Kari called.

They heard the stairs creak and ran into the hallway.

Davis was coming down the stairs. "Chill, guys. I just went upstairs for a minute."

The relieved searchers prepared to go back outside when they noticed another absence. "Has anyone seen Mimi?" Tai asked.

"She was with us when we came in," Kari said.

"Did anyone notice her leave or hear anything?" asked Tsukiyo.

They looked around the house for her. As they made their way up the stairs, Yolei suddenly stopped. "Did anyone hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tai asked.

"I thought I heard a...rustling sound, like crinkling leaves."

They all paused to listen. The house became eerily silent.

"I guess I imagined it." They continued up the stairs. "I wish we could rule out monsters like normal people could," Yolei said. "This whole region is supposed to be a weak point between worlds. Maybe something came through."

"Do you think it could be Daemon?" Kari asked.

"Maybe not Daemon. How could he know where we are? Besides, he can travel between the worlds whenever he wants, and he would probably attack us all at once."

They found nothing upstairs, but when they gathered to go back downstairs they noticed Tai was gone.

"What is going on here?" Tsukiyo wondered aloud.

* * *

They went out the front door to look on the terrace. There was no one there, but Ken lingered behind when the others went back inside. He noticed a pair of shoes by the door. Judging by their size and style, he concluded they were Tora's, and they were dry, which meant Tora had never left the house. 

Davis returned to the living room. Cody chose to stay with him to keep him company. Everyone else went out the kitchen door to search the woods again. Ken would have joined them, but in the kitchen he slipped, landing hard on the cold wooden floor. He fumbled around in the dark, trying to find what he slipped on. His hands found a patch of water on the floor. At first, he thought someone must have spilled something, but he couldn't imagine why someone would have been carrying water. Then he realized the floor was colder at that spot, which had caused water in the air to condense on it. Air, he knew, lost heat faster than ground, which was why roads over bridges could be icy even when the rest of the road wasn't. He hypothesized that there was air under the floor at that spot. He slid his fingers over the floor until it came to a crack, then followed along the crack until the crack widened enough for fingers to fit; he found a handhold carved into the side of the floorboard. He lifted away the trap door, revealing a hatch. A dull light glinted off metal ladder bars. After a moment's hesitation, Ken began to climb down. He pulled the trap door over the hole to prevent someone stumbling into it in the dark. Then he continued his descent.


	5. One by One

Chapter 5: One by One

"He was right behind us, and now he's gone!" Rain poured down Yolei's face as she shouted at her companions. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated her furious features. "Everyone else, I thought maybe it was a joke, but not Ken. We have to find him."

"Yolei, don't worry. They have to be around here somewhere; there's no where for them to go," Kari tried to calm her.

"But they're _not _here, are they! Maybe they're in the digiworld. Or the Underworld. Or the Dark Ocean; ever think of that?"

"All of the disappearances happened in the cabin," Izzy pointed out. "Whatever is making our friends disappear is in there. That's where we need to look."

They got back to the cabin.

"Cody! Davis! Have you seen Ken?" Kari asked.

Davis ran down from upstairs. "Cody's gone," he gasped.

"What? Cody too?" Yolei exclaimed.

"There's something upstairs," Davis said. "Something big. Listen."

They all held their breath and listened. Something creaked. After a moment, something closer creaked.

Tsukiyo's head snapped in the direction of the hall closet. "This way," she whispered.

The others followed her. She put her ear to the door and listened. Then she quietly eased the door open, lifted her candle to look inside.

The candle's flame was snuffed out. A dark flurry descended on her. She let out what would have been the beginning of a scream, but it was the next instant choked in silence. Tsukiyo was gone.

"Tsukiyo!" Izzy ran to the closet. He picked Tsukiyo's candle off the floor. His face, in the light of the other candles, contorted with grief, and a sob escaped his lips. "TSUKIYO!"

* * *

Ken's feet hit dirt floor. His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness until he could see the vaguest outlines of the walls and floor. He reached out his hand to touch the wall, which he felt was concrete. He followed it, ignoring the gritty clumps of cobwebs that his fingers brushed over, until he ran into a metal door. He fumbled for a doorknob, but before he found one the door opened. A bright light shone in his face. 

"Ken? What are you doing here?"

"Tora. What is this place?"

"Come in here." Tora grabbed his shirt and pulled Ken in. The beam of Tora's flashlight glinted off cans of food and bottles of water. "Not even Tsukiyo knows about this bomb shelter. How did you find it?"

"What are you doing down here?" Ken repeated. "Everyone's looking for you."

There was a quiver of fear in Tora's voice. "There's something out there."

"What kind of 'something'?"

"I don't know what it was. I saw it in the hall, in the rafters. It was some kind of monster."

"Was it a digimon?" Ken asked.

"I don't know. When I saw it I hid down here as fast as I could."

What Tora said made Ken's estimation of him sink even lower. What kind of person would hide from a monster without telling anyone, even his sister, that it was there? But Ken didn't mention it. "What did it look like? Did it look humanoid?"

Tora shook his head. "I've never seen anything that looked _less_ humanoid."

"Then it wasn't Daemon," Ken said with relief. He started back for the ladder.

"You're leaving?" Tora asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"But the monster could still be out there."

He was acting like a spoiled child, but Ken tried to keep the resentment out of his voice. "And so are my friends. They need to know what they're up against."

"You don't like me, do you?" he said accusingly.

Ken sighed. "Why does it matter right now?"

"When I saw you on TV when I was younger, I thought you were the coolest person in the world. I wanted to be just like you. I was really looking forward to meeting you. But since the moment we met I've been getting the impression that you dislike me."

_I don't have time for this,_ Ken thought. "We'll discuss it later." He walked to the ladder, now clearly visible in Tora's flashlight, and began climbing.

To his surprise, Tora followed him. "Everyone must be worried about me," he said by way of explanation.

Whatever Ken was about to say was interrupted by a beeping sound.

"What's that?"

"My digivice." Ken took it out and examined the screen. "It's picking up something in the woods." He set off toward the signal, hoping he would run into the others on the way.

"I'm going with you," Tora announced.

Ken didn't feel like arguing.


	6. Xtoyilmon

Note: _Xtoyil _is a Mayan word for "spider." The _x _is pronounced like "sh."

Chapter 6: Xtoyilmon

Yolei looked around at everyone who was left: Kari, Davis, and Izzy. Tsukiyo's disappearance had left Izzy nearly useless. None of them understood what was going on. And Ken was missing. It was that thought that pushed Yolei to action.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Whatever this thing is, it's going after us one at a time. We're not going to just wait until it gets us all. We're going to fight."

"How?" Kari asked.

"Come on." Yolei led them to the kitchen, rooted through the silverware until she found some steak knives, and passed them out. "We'll set up our defense in the upstairs bedroom; it's a relatively open space without many places to hide. We wait for this thing to come for another one of us, and then we fight it."

They began ascending the stairs, then a whoosh of wind extinguished their candles. There was the sound of scurrying legs, then a scream.

"Kari?" Davis reached out. "She's gone."

Yolei bit her lip to keep it from quivering. She was surprised by how little fear there was in her voice. "Let's keep going. When it comes for the rest of us, we'll be ready. I have a flashlight in my duffel bag."

In the girls' bedroom, they set up the flashlight and made a circle around it. Holding their knives in sweaty hands, they waited. They didn't have to wait long.

A scratching sound announced the creature's approach. Then there was an eerie silence.

"Well, where is it?" Davis asked right before a dark, spindly leg darted from the ceiling and clasped his arm.

"_Hiya_! Take that!" Yolei slashed at the leg.

There was an unearthly screech of pain. A puff of dark smoke emerged from the wound. Another long leg hit Yolei, throwing her against the wall.

Izzy began slashing with a ferocity no one would have expected from him. The creature screeched angrily, grasped Izzy with a long claw-like pincher and pulled him to the ceiling. Izzy fell limp, then the creature darted out the window, opening and closing it in seconds with nothing more than a high-pitched squeak, effortlessly dragging Izzy behind it.

Davis helped Yolei up. "Fighting doesn't seem to be working."

"Do you have a better idea?" Yolei challenged. She picked up Izzy's fallen knife, and looked intently at the window.

Davis stared at her. Usually, she would be in a state of panic by this point. Then it occurred to him: this was the way she acted when her friends were in danger.

"Davis, the window..." she whispered, but too late.

The long, thin legs darted out and grabbed Davis. As he struggled, stabbing blindly, Yolei ran up and began slashing at the creature as it retreated toward the window. It pulled Davis outside and began climbing toward the wet roof, but Yolei grabbed onto one of the legs holding Davis and slashed her blade across it.

Davis was aware of falling, then he landed hard in the mud at the base of the cabin. One severed, arachnoid foot twitched beside him. He looked up in time to see the monster dive back into the room after Yolei.

* * *

Yolei could only hope Davis was alright. She retreated back as the creature advanced on her. She could see it clearly now: Shiny green eyes—eight of them—stared at her from a large head. It didn't have a mouth, only a long proboscis that dripped venom as it stretched hungrily toward her. Its eight long, spindly legs, one of them held off the ground and trailing a wisp of black smoke, inched toward her. Its legs outstretched took up the room, but its body was comparatively small. 

She took a deep breath and fought down despair. She'd been in seemingly-hopeless battles with terrifying monsters before, she reminded herself. "What did you do with my friends?" she asked.

The creature crouched down, preparing to attack, and she braced her footing. Its front legs darted out toward her. She screamed, and a second later she felt its proboscis jab her shoulder. Paralyzing venom entered her body. She could barely breathe, but she had somehow managed to grab the proboscis with one hand. She jerked the knife she still held across the proboscis, but her vision went black before she could see what effect if any the action had.

* * *

"Is it because of Kari?" 

Tora's question drew Ken out of a contemplative silence. "What do you mean?"

"Do you hate me because I was flirting with Kari?"

"No," Ken responded. "I don't hate you. And if I did, it certainly wouldn't be because you flirted with Kari. I didn't even notice you flirting with Kari."

"Mimi, then?"

"No." Ken leaned over his digivice to keep the rain off its screen. They were getting closer to whatever it was detecting.

"Kari and Mimi are so beautiful. I kind of feel sorry for Yolei."

Ken didn't have a quick temper, so he didn't turn around and punch Tora. "I disagree. And, anyway, beauty is only skin deep," he said. "Personality is what's important."

The rain slackened to a stop. A moment later, the moon pierced through the clouds to glimmer off the dripping trees

"What an enlightened opinion," Tora said disdainfully. "It's not that she isn't pretty, just not compared to the other two."

Ken opened his mouth to say something, but Tora interrupted him.

"Do you believe in fairies?"

"That depends on the definition. Why?"

"Because I think I'm looking at one right now."

Ken looked up and followed Tora's gaze through the trees. Standing motionless several meters away was what looked like a beautiful woman wearing a shimmering kimono of iridescent white with ruby sleeves. Her skin was translucent milky white; her hair was black with fiery points of purple and green.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" Tora whispered.

"No, I think she's a digimon."

They didn't speak as she glided toward them. "I'm Opalmon," she stated. She looked directly at Ken. "I was going to ask how you knew I was a digimon, but I recognize you now. I'm here on a mission from the Fireshield League."

"A group of digimon without partners who work to protect the digital world," Ken explained to Tora, "Mostly through espionage and subterfuge."

"We like to call it using brains instead of brute force," she said crisply. Her glittering eyes fell on Tora. "Are you digidestined?"

"No," he said. "You're the first digimon I've ever seen, except in pictures or on TV. My name's Tora."

"What are you doing here?" Ken asked her.

"I was investigating rumors that Daemon was courting allies in the Demon Underworld when one of the demons I was following, a giant spider named Xtoyilmon, found a rift between his world and this world. I came here looking for him."

"That explains the reading my digivice was picking up. Xtoyilmon must be the monster you saw," Ken told Tora.

"You know where it is?" Opalmon asked urgently.

"It could be at the cabin where we're staying," Tora said.

"Some of our friends have disappeared," Ken added.

Opalmon's eyes widened. "How many humans were there?"

"Twelve, including us. No digimon."

"Xtoyilmon will start feeding once it's captured everyone. We don't have much time."

"This way," Ken said as he turned around and started back toward the cabin. He thought of his friends at the mercy of Xtoyilmon, and he increased his speed until he was sprinting through the woods. Tora had to struggle to keep up with him.

They reached the cabin in a few minutes.

"Yolei!" Ken called. "Davis? Izzy? Tsukiyo!" He heard Tora's gasping breath and turned to him. "We're too late."

"Mmmmm!"

They looked up and saw someone wrapped in spider silk hanging off the roof.

"Nacre Beam!" Shafts of light radiated from Opalmon's fingertips, cutting through the threads. She caught the falling human and quickly cut through the rest of the binding, revealing Davis.

He spat a soggy mass of webbing out of his mouth. "Monster," he said. "Yolei and Izzy and I tried to fight it. We thought we were the only ones left. Who are you?"

"I'm Opalmon. Where's Xtoyilmon now?"

"I don't know. I fell out the window, then it went after Yolei, then it came back for me. It took me up on the roof. That's where the others are. They're all stuck up there. They weren't moving."

"How long ago was that?" Opalmon asked intently.

"I don't know, five minutes."

Opalmon looked up. "We're not too late to save some," she said somberly.

"How do we get up there?" Tora asked.

Opalmon walked to the wall, grabbed the a thread from which Davis had been hanging, gave it a solid tug, and started climbing. Ken followed her without hesitation. Davis and Tora gave each other looks, then started climbing after them.

The roof was steep, but it was nearly carpeted with sticky spiderweb, providing ample traction. Opalmon cut loose the first body she came to: Matt. He was clearly unconscious.

"They've been bitten," Opalmon explained. "Xtoyilmon injects its pray with a paralyzing poison."

"Will they recover?" Ken asked darkly.

"I don't know. A digimon would, but I don't know how Xtoyilmon's venom affects humans. But if we don't cut them out soon, they'll suffocate." She went around to the other bodies, cutting away the webbing around their faces. "It doesn't make sense," she said. "Xtoyilmon should have started feeding by now."

Ken walked around looking at the faces of his friends: Matt, Izzy, Kari, Tai, T.K., Mimi, Cody, Tsukiyo. "Yolei's not here," he said.

"She might still be in the bedroom, where we fought the thing," Davis suggested.

Ken began climbing down. As soon as his feet touched the ground he ran inside. The others followed him a moment later.

* * *

In the girls' bedroom, Ken found Yolei's glasses and the fallen knife by the light of the moon shining through the window. 

Davis walked up behind him. He could sense Ken's devastation. "You should have seen her. She was so brave," he whispered.

Ken folded up the glasses and put them in his pocket. "We'll find her," he vowed.

Opalmon began looking around, using her Nacre Beam for light. "In here," she called from the boys' bedroom. She'd found Yolei hanging from the rafters in a spiderweb.

"Yolei!" Ken's cry came out as a pained whimper.

"Nacre Beam!" Opalmon cut her down. Yolei fell limply to the floor.

Ken ran to her and kneeled beside her. She looked so pale, almost blue. He frantically pulled the spiderweb away from her. He paused. "I think I found why it hasn't started feeding yet." He pointed to the proboscis, still stuck in Yolei's shoulder.

"Get it out!" Opalmon ordered. "It might still have venom in it."

Ken put his hand on her shoulder, noting how swollen it was, and yanked out the proboscis and tossed it away from her. Then his fingers slid across her neck searching for a pulse. He exhaled sharply in relief when he found one.

Opalmon heard a swish of movement. Her eyes darted around the room, then up. "Look out!"

Ken looked up in time to see Xtoyilmon drop from the rafters. He curled over Yolei protectively.

"Nacre Beam!" Opalmon's attack caused Xtoyilmon to fall to the ground, but it was instantly on its various feet, facing her.

"Spider Spray!"

Opalmon dodged—barely–the acidic sparks.

"Fire Opal!" A red sphere formed in her sleeve and flew toward her foe.

With a flick of one of its legs, Xtoyilmon deflected it back at her. She dodged, but was unprepared for the next attack. "Arachnistrike!"

A stream of energy enveloped her. She de-digivolved to her in-training form.

"Opalmon!" Tora ran across the path of the spider demon and swept the little digimon out of the path of another Spider Spray. Tora saw Xtoyilmon effortlessly change its direction mid stride to chase after him. He ducked through the closest door—the bathroom—but before he could pull the door shut Xtoyilmon slipped inside, its long legs bent at odd angles to fit within the small room. Tora dove between its legs and out the door, slamming it behind him. A couple of the spider demon's legs were smashed in the door frame. Tora backed away from the door quickly. He put down the digimon when she began struggling against his tight grip.

"Wow, Tora. That was some quick thinking," Davis complimented.

"Thinking?" Tora asked in bemusement. "I wasn't thinking. I just had to protect Opalmon." He looked at the digimon, who now looked like a translucent pink lizard. "What were you doing, attacking a digimon that size, Opalmon?"

"My name is Quartzmon now. It wasn't a digimon, it was a Xibalban. And what else could I do? No one else is here to fight it."

"Just a second." Davis ran into the other room and returned with the three knives he, Yolei, and Izzy had used to fight Xtoyilmon before. He gave one to Tora, one to Ken, and held one as he cautiously approached the door where the giant spider legs still flailed futilely. He threw open the door.

And the severed limbs fell to the ground. Xtoyilmon was gone.

"Where did it go?" Davis asked.

"There are spaces between the walls and ceiling in each room," Tora told him. "Xtoyilmon might be able to fit through them."

"It could be anywhere," Ken said.

"But my guess is that it's staying close," Quartzmon stated.

The window squeaked open. They turned to see the spider demon climb through the window. Quartzmon leaped forward to face it.

"Quartzmon, no!" Tora started running toward her. A bright light flashed from his hand, and he found himself holding a digivice.

"Quartzmon digivolve to...Opalmon! Fire Opal!" The attack knocked Xtoyilmon off its feet, but it quickly launched a counter-attack.

"Arachnistrike!"

"Opalmon digivolve to...Lazulimon!" Now in the form of a dark blue tiger, the champion-level digimon knocked Xtoyilmon with its tail, then struck at it with her claws. "Lapis Claw!"

A glowing scratch mark appeared on Xtoyilmon, then it melted into a cloud of black smoke.

Lazulimon returned to the form of Opalmon. "It's finished." She turned to Tora with amazement. "But now I have a human partner."

"Try not to sound so excited," said Tora, who couldn't have looked happier.

"You don't understand. I'm in the Fireshield League. They're...they're not going to like this."

"They'll get used to it. Xtoyilmon would have killed us all if you hadn't digivolved."

Opalmon didn't comment.


	7. Aware

Last chapter. Thanks, LoveSovereign, for putting this story in your C2 and for giving my fanfics a second chance.

Please review. If you can't think of anything, just rate it on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "I can't believe I wasted my time reading this; please consider deleting it" and 5 being "Loved it." I can't guarantee I'll reply to your review, but I might.

Chapter 7: _Aware_

By the next morning, most of Xtoyilmon's victims had awoken from their venom-induced sleeps, though they were all weak, sore, and nauseous. The exception was Yolei, who still showed no sign of recovery.

Ken stayed by her side. His eyes traced the contours of her pale face in the pre-dawn glow. "Come back to me, Yolei," he begged in a whisper. "What would we do without you?" He took her limp hand. It was cold. "How could I ever feel this way about someone else? You know the things I've done, and yet you forgave me; you look at me like I'm guiltless; you how bloodstained my hands are, yet you touch me without revulsion. I don't know if you could ever love me; I don't care. I just need you to be my friend, I just need to see you smile, and share in your happiness. If you die, the whole world will feel dead to me." The room grew blurry for a moment, then the tears began spilling down his cheeks. A poem by Minamoto Wataru came to mind.

I do not know the road down which I go,

And tears block off the unknown way ahead.

He heard the door quietly creak open and quickly let go of Yolei's hand.

"How is she doing?" Kari asked.

Ken wiped a tear on his sleeve before turning to look at her. "She hasn't woken up yet."

Even in the dim light, Kari saw that Ken had been crying. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She'll wake up," she promised.

Ken couldn't keep more tears from spilling down his cheeks. He turned away.

"I'll stay with her. You should go and get some rest."

He nodded, then stood and left without letting Kari see the tears on his face. Instead of going to bed, he went outside and looked at the sky, where most of the stars had been wiped away by the encroaching dawn. Though he felt like sobbing, no sound more than his grief-choked breath emerged from his throat.

Tsukiyo sat down beside him on the step. "I think she'll recover," she announced.

"How can you be so sure?"

"She's not deteriorating. The human body is designed to heal itself if given half a chance."

Ken didn't look at her. "Do you believe in karma?" he asked.

"No, I don't," she stated frankly. "And even if we are punished for our sins, I don't think the punishment would come in the form of the suffering of those we care about."

Ken looked at her with surprise that she had known what he was thinking.

"Izzy hasn't told me much about your past," Tsukiyo added, "but he seems to think that you've suffered more than anyone should have to endure. And what about me? I had the misfortune of being born a poor female burakumin; what sin did I commit to deserve that fate?"

Ken tried to smile, but couldn't. "I guess you're right. I just..."

Tsukiyo remained silent until it became clear he didn't intend to finish his thought. "I understand how you feel," she said sympathetically. "I know how I would feel if Izzy were in Yolei's place. Izzy's my best friend, the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm afraid to lose him even when he's not in danger. Just imagining that we'll be parted someday in the far future makes me sad. It hurts to care about him so much, but I wouldn't trade that pain for anything. And you feel the same way about Yolei."

Ken continued to stare off into the morning sky. "It's hard to explain what Yolei means to me.

"'There was no color

To my heart, but with you

It is dyed and now

That it might fade

Is beyond imagination.'"

"Ki no Tsurayuki?" Tsukiyo asked, recognizing the poet more from style than memory.

Ken nodded. "Tsurayuki's one of my favorites. I often find solace in poetry," he admitted. "Ever since...since I came back."

Tsukiyo didn't need him to explain further.

* * *

Breakfast was quiet. They ate slowly, or not at all. The exception was Quartzmon, who ate an entire loaf of bread, and most of the tapioca pudding. 

"I can't believe you're _still _hungry, Quartzmon," Tora said when she asked for more toast.

"One thing you'll learn about having a digimon: you have to buy food in bulk," Cody said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey guys, look who's up," Kari said as she appeared at the door with Yolei, groggy and weak, but conscious.

Cody and Davis stood up to help her to the table and get her some breakfast, even though she protested that she wasn't hungry. Ken wanted to go to her, but his legs wouldn't work. He couldn't even smile, in spite of the relief he felt. When Kari sat her across the table from him, in the seat that had been Davis's, Ken finally found his voice. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Honestly, like I just went over Angel Falls in a barrel lit on fire, but I'm alive, which...is a pleasant surprise."

Ken managed to smile at her joke, briefly. Then he began to eat his breakfast, which he had only been poking at before.

Kari frowned. She was sure she hadn't imagined the depths of emotion Ken showed when he sat by Yolei's side, but now he seemed to be acting like nothing had happened. Perhaps it was just the concern he would show any of his friends, but Kari doubted it. He wasn't the kind of person who showed his feelings openly, so if he did feel more than friendship for Yolei perhaps he kept it hidden. She resolved to talk to Yolei about it, when she got the chance.

* * *

Later that morning, they began packing up to leave. 

"Some vacation," Mimi complained. "Why can't we ever just have a relaxing time without being attacked by monsters?"

"Do you think it was a coincidence that Xtoyilmon happened to find the cabin where the digidestined were staying, or do you think he was sent here?" Tsukiyo asked.

"It's hard to know for sure," T.K. said. "Daemon could have sent Xtoyilmon after us, but if he wanted to destroy us, he could have come himself."

"It might not have been Daemon," Opalmon told them. "Xtoyilmon was kind of a mercenary; in the payroll of more than one minor warlord of the underworld, including Balaammon, who refuses to give his allegiance to Daemon, and Gruesomon, who's one of his strongest supporters." She turned to her partner. "Tora, I've decided to return to the underworld to finish my assignment."

He looked upset. "But...we're partners now."

"I know, but I still have a responsibility to the Fireshield League. When this assignment is over, I don't know what my status with them will be. But what kind of partner would I be if I didn't fulfill my obligations?"

Tora nodded reluctantly. "Be careful."

"Don't worry," she said, "I know how to take care of myself."

When the humans left the cabin, Tora looked back at it almost longingly. He had faced a spider demon, become a digidestined, and made new friends in that cabin. In the course of a weekend, his life had changed completely.

The End

* * *

End notes: In case you're wondering about the Japanese words I use for titles and names, _Tsukiyo _means "moonlit night"; _matsu_ is a common poetic pun that means "pine tree" and "to wait"; _mujou_ is an important Japanese concept that translates loosely to "evanescence, uncertainty, the bittersweet impermanence of things"; _aware_ means "compassion, pathos"; Uji is the name of a city near Kyoto where part of the Tale of Genji was set, which sounds similar to a word for "gloom."

* * *

Coming soon: _Fairytales in the Underworld. _The digidestined return to the underworld to search for two demons that could be instrumental in the battle against Daemon. Ken and Yolei finally get together. 


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